A Call to Arms
by whiskytango
Summary: He was an Army Ranger. She was their medic. This is their story.   Puck/Quinn. AU. Smut will be in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1: Same Shit, Different Day

_Let me clarify some things before you read the story, which I hope you enjoy._

_Names used for 'leaders for mass destruction' are not real people or any other names used for Presidents of countries or names like that etc. are just made up for the purpose of just this story._

_I do not know all the facts about the military, the war on terror or anything else like that so don't criticize me for that aspect of the story, but I do try my best to try get everything right._

_This is completely AU, I do not own characters or glee._

Chapter 1

"_Same shit, different day."_

He was an Army Ranger. She was their medic. This is their story.

Noah Puckerman joined the Army for all the wrong reasons. He joined for money, he joined for a free feed and most of all he joined because he didn't have to worry about his mother and sister. He didn't have to worry about who was going to have to go out and get food from their grandmothers house, just cause they didn't have any that night. He didn't have to worry about his little sister stealing anymore or his mother spending long hours at the Hospital; because he knew that he was getting paid for this. He knew he could stay here and fight well because his family back home would get all his money. He didn't fight for country and honour. He fought for family.

Quinn Fabray aced all her exams, received the valedictorian for her school and most of all she was captain of the Cheerios, but it wasn't enough for her. She wanted to help people, she wanted to do something with her life as clichéd as it sounded and she wanted to do it as far away from everyone else as possible. Since she had done so well in her exams, they allowed her to apply for an advanced course in Medicine, at Harvard. Miles away from Lima, Ohio, but it seemed like it wasn't far enough. She did the college thing, she spent three years in it, slaving away in her dorm room to get her exams done and when she finished her exams for her fourth year out of her sixth she left. She had enough. Her parents were on her back, so she went far away from them as she could. She joined the army.

Noah Puckerman was only 24 when he was placed in the Army Rangers after completing the Ranger School. He excelled in everything. He was the Army's best assest and he was probably one of the most fearest. He had the quickest reflexes, he had the best aim, but he was the strangest and most distant of all the soldiers. No one knew why he joined the army, no one knew why he never got letters and no one knew why he never went home. He always had leave, but he would go to Paris or somewhere close to where he was stationed. He didn't want to go home. It would always make him want to stay.

Noah or Puck as he was known better as, was sent out on a mission to the Iraqi/Iran border. Intel had been given to him and his squad about the known whereabouts of Mohammed Al-Pashir (_a leader for Mass destruction: read info above)_. He had captured one of Puck's good friends, Lieutenant Scott in an attempt to try get more money from the United States. The deal had gone wrong and the whereabouts on Puck's friend are still unknown. With the knowledge that they might be able to get Mohammed Al-Pashir and question him for the whereabouts is a chance that Puck is willing to take.

"Captain Puckerman." Puck always hated this Colonel. He was too fake, a little annoying and definitely a bit up himself. Puck zipped up his bag that lay on his bunk bed and turned, taking up the salute position. Beside the Colonel, who reminded Puck of the real Colonel Sanders, stood Quinn Fabray. She was small, emotionless and to Puck's eyes… very, very beautiful.

"At ease." The Colonel said with pride. Puck always felt that the Colonel dreamt about everyone staring and saluting him in his dreams.

"Sir?" Puck murmured, confused as to why he was bringing her to him. The last woman that the Colonel brought to him was his daughter and he wanted Puck to fall in love with her, which was hard since she looked exactly like him.

"Captain, this is Corporal Fabray. She is your new medic." The Colonel said, just a little bit too cheery for Puck's liking. Their last medic was Lieutenant Scott, but the thing was, you couldn't have a medic in an Army Rangers squad. Women weren't allowed to fight in combat and that's what the Army Rangers did. They fought, wherever they went. It was their job.

"Sir, I don't mean to be rude…" He murmured, trying to ignore the raised brow that came from the blonde beauty standing beside the Colonel and continued, "and of course to you Miss, sorry, Corporal Fabray, but women aren't allowed in the Army Rangers." He murmured and the Colonel rolled his eyes.

"You don't think I know that? She's not an Army Ranger, Noah." He walked over and clapped Puck on the shoulder. Puck almost wanted to punch him for calling him Noah in front of her. "She's just a medic. I cannot let you go in there without one."

"One, we all know how to look after our men if one us goes down. Two, I will spend half of my time looking out for her and not focusing on the mission." Puck murmured, trying not to get angry as he ticked off the reasons on his fingers. It was true though. She would be in there with barely any Army Ranger training, their stuff is advanced shit and she couldn't fight in combat, so if they were under fire Puck would have to protect her and his men.

"Puckerman, you will not go down there without a medic. She won't be in the way, she will have her own gun and if needed she will fight in combat."  
>"That's against the-"<p>

"Yesterday, 0400 hours Captain Catherine Parkinson bombed half of the United Front that were closing in on that cosy little base we like to call home. She saved your life and hundreds more."

"That's not direct contact, sir."

"I don't plan on shooting anyone, I don't plan on being killed. You don't need to worry about me, I can aim and I can shoot, but I don't plan to. I can hide, I can climb, I can do anything. I just want to find Lieutenant Scott and bring him home." Quinn murmured, her eyes on both of the men. She didn't want to fight; she just wanted to save lives. Puck can do all the killing, she didn't care. She just didn't want to see it and she just didn't want to be apart of it. Quinn couldn't help but shiver under Puck's intense stare. Before when she came in he was curious, a small smile playing at his lips, but now he looked angry with her. It wasn't her fault, she wanted to tell him. She wasn't the one who put herself up for this. She just came from being in a Hospital in west Afghanistan, helping whomever she could that rolled through her doors. She had seen too many people die and she had seen too many bad things already, she didn't want to see anymore or even cause anymore.

"Fine." He muttered, his hazel eyes narrowing for a moment at the Colonel before turning his head to look at her. His eyes were piercing and almost threatening. "We leave at 2100." He murmured before walking off. As he turned away Quinn felt her stomach flip, her teeth nibbling at her bottom lip. She was definitely going to hard a very hard few days ahead.

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><p><em>This is obviously just a short chapter to see if anyone likes it, so please, reviews are always welcome!<em>


	2. Chapter 2: No Dice

I'm not going to continue this story if people are going to pick on me for details that I have apologized for in the PREVIOUS chapter.

Let me make this clear.

For the second time.

I do NOT know anything about the Army.  
>I'm trying to learn, but obviously I do NOT have experience.<br>I don't have any education on it and I will NOT continue this story if I have people picking on me for the details.

Do NOT tell me how to write my story, just because you don't like the fact that I get some of the information incorrect, which I KNOW already.

As a writer, I do love to have my stories criticized, but this type of criticism is not what I want. If you're focusing more on the fact that the stupid details are wrong than the story, don't read it.

It pisses me off when people tell me I'm wrong when I already know, all right?

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><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

"_No Dice"_

When the clock stroke 2100 hours Quinn Fabray along with a squad of five other men, including Captain Puckerman, were sent into Baghdad. Probably one of the most dangerous places in the world at the moment. They would fly Helicopter, find a safe Landing Zone and rappel down so they could find their man. So when they were up in the air, they had a downtime of about an hour or two and Quinn made it to good use.

Quinn had already learnt the name of all the soldiers. There was Lieutenant Tyler Witchia. He was from Texas and he loved football. He also had two kids, a wife and another baby on the way. There was 2nd Lieutenant Peter Marshall. He didn't have any kids but he had a wife. Officer Cadet Riley Walters. He was the same age as Quinn, he only had his mum and he couldn't stop looking at her. There was Sergeant Major David Erikson. He was gay and all the boys accepted him just as anyone else. Then there was Captain Noah Puckerman. Squad leader… with no information. Riley had been sitting with her the whole time, telling her all this information, but he had nothing on Puck. He never visited family, they didn't even know if he had family or not, but just never talked about it.

"So what about you, Corporal? Where are you from?" Tyler asked from across the truck. He looked like he wasn't a day over 25, but he was 31 according to Riley.

"Lima, Ohio." All the boys except Puck let out a laugh.

"So why'd you join?" Peter asked her, his blue eyes peeking out from under his helmet as he looked at her.

"I needed an escape." She murmured, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear before looking round at the confused faces of the boys. "My parents were… lets say the stereotypical, Oh you have to perfect, parents." A few boys nodded in understanding. "So I went to Harvard, did medicine for a couple of years then I came here."

"Harvard, wowee." Tyler said with a whistle and all the boys clapped. She rolled her eyes.

"Quiet. Get suited up." Was all Puck had to say, his eyes meeting Quinn's before looking away.

Once they were on the ground Quinn was put between Riley and Peter. Peter took up the rear, Riley was in front of her. Puck and Peter joined the army at the same time, joined the same Regiment and decided to do Ranger School together, so having Peter behind Quinn was the best way Puck knew that she was going to be safe. Tyler had gone off with David to be spotters and snipers to ensure that they were safe the whole way. It was dark and it was cold as they made their way through Baghdad. No one was out on the streets, thank goodness and Quinn even wondered if anyone lived here anymore. There were the distant sounds of gunfire and bombs, but Puck pursed on. She could hear their radio as they talked to one another. She recognized Tyler and David's voices.

"So she's pretty hot huh?" Tyler asked over the radio and Quinn wanted to smack herself.

"Yeah, I suppose so." David replied, his voice a bit… uncertain. He was gay after all.

"I would say she would be the equivalent of… I don't know, Tom Cruise? He's pretty hot."

"Quiet, we don't want to block up the radio waves and don't insult Quinn by comparing her to Tom Cruise." Puck said over the radio, causing a few laughs. Quinn just blushed.

"How are we looking, Tyler?" Puck asked as he led the small squad through a maze of alleys and buildings. Quinn swore she saw the same door to the same building twice as they made their way through.

"No United Front soldiers at the moment, just a few ducks."  
>"Ducks? In Baghdad?" Riley asked, he almost sounded excited to see them.<p>

"Shh, come on." Puck murmured and let out a sigh as he reached the end of the tunnel. It was a huge highway and it was completely deserted. But it had no cover.

"Fuck." Peter murmured from behind Quinn.

"Okay, Tyler, David your position?" Puck asked, grabbing Quinn and pressing her up against the wall as a car came past. His arm was across her stomach.

"Don't move." He whispered.

"We're across from where you are. Two clicks. Four soldiers outside your door. Don't stand by the windows, we can see you from here." Quinn looked around, Riley was looking through a magazine. Jesus. She grabbed him and pulled him down. All four of them were now sitting, their back against the wall as UF soldiers walked outside. Quinn's heart was hammering, she was sweating and she could feel Puck's hand move to her wrist.

"We can take them out." David whispered into the Comms.

"Silencers?" Puck whispered back. Quinn looked over at him, beads of sweat were falling down his cheek. His hazel eyes were focused on his watch.

"Yes."

"Do they look like they're gonna move?"

"No."

"Take them out."

Quinn didn't expect to hear what she expected then. She heard the small whoosh of something and then slicing. Then a thud. It sounded horrible. She didn't hear a scream. She didn't hear a yelp. She just heard blood gushing.  
>"Breathe." Puck commanded in her ear and she did.<p>

"Four dead." David whispered and Puck got up, his hand still gripping Quinn's wrist.

"We're gonna be sitting ducks out there to anyone that can see us so we need to get across quickly and," Puck paused for the briefest second, his eyes moving to Quinn's. "leave no man behind." Puck moved to the edge of the door and swung it open. Quinn followed behind Riley, her head poised straight ahead as she didn't want to see the dead UF soldiers.

She didn't want to see their faces and imagine they had children or wives or anything like that. She did glance up at one of the buildings and saw something flash. Without even thinking it through she shouted out, "Get down!" and everyone did. Then the rain of fire came in. They hid behind a burnt out car, their backs against it as she heard Puck's shouting over the Comms. Then she saw Riley. He wasn't quick enough. He had a bullet straight through his shoulder. Quinn ignored what was going on and grabbed him, pulling him back to the small building they were in. Puck was shouting at her but she didn't care, his words still echoed in her head, _Leave no man behind._ She needed a proper place to treat him. She pushed him up against the wall once they were inside and she pulled her backpack off that contained everything that she needed. She pulled off his gear and shirt. The door swung open as she did.

"What the fuck were you thinking – holy shit." Puck said as he came in with the rest of the boys.

"Talk to him!" Quinn shouted at him and he nodded, getting down on his knees beside Riley and grabbing him.

"Hey buddy, listen to me, talk to me buddy. Who's that pretty girl back at home you were telling me about yesterday?"

"Lila." He grunted. His eyes drooping.

"No stay awake for me buddy, tell me everything about her everything." Puck's eyes wandered to what Quinn was doing. Her fingers were soaked in blood as she reached into his wound and took out the bullet, earning a scream from Riley.

"She's got red hair."

"Woo a reddie." Peter said with a laugh, keeping his eyes out the window.

"She has legs… that go for fuck!" He had tried to move his arm but it caused a tear when Quinn was stitching, causing blood to spurt everywhere.

"Keep him still!" Quinn shouted and continued to stitch. She had blood all over her now. Her face, her neck and the front of her shirt. One she was done stitching she started to wrap him up. She grabbed a needle full of morphine and pumped it into him. She let out a sigh and looked up at Puck who was staring at her.

"Call for an evac. We can't carry him anywhere, especially with snipers up there."

"What do you mean we can't carry him?"

"You carry him long enough, he'll lose all of his blood." She said as she stood up, wiping the blood off her face and took off her helmet. Her bun was now messy and a few strands of hair stuck to her sweaty face. She let it out, tied it again and then sighed.

Puck let out a groan. He had to choose between finding Scott or getting Riley out safe. He could do both, he thought to himself.

"Peter, you stay here with Riley. Get an evac and get him out of here."

"Are you insane? Going in with only four men and one that's only a medic, that's fucking suicidal." Puck glanced in Quinn's direction. He should leave her behind, but that would be stupid too. He grabbed Riley's gun and handed it to her.

"Shoot if your life depends on it." He said and Quinn took the gun, strapped to herself and grabbed as many bandages as she think Riley would need and gave it to Peter.

"Just pressure." She whispered and he nodded. Puck was talking over the radio to David and Tyler.

"Quinn, don't get yourself killed." Peter murmured and Quinn licked her lips.

"I'll try not to."

Puck and Quinn walked as quietly as they could through the alleyways to meet up with Tyler and David. Quinn's heart was hammering and she was watching Puck the whole time. He would stop when he would hear something and would push her up against the wall. She wondered if he tried really hard not to graze her boobs. Then she realized that was the most ridiculous thing she could think of whilst in a situation like this. When they finally met up with the rest of the squad, they were running for what felt like forever. They kept running and ran through buildings and through everywhere. When they finally reached the building they needed to find Quinn's stomach dropped when she saw the line of blood. This looked like an arterial spurt, which would mean… by the looks of how dried the blood looked this person would be dead or on the way.

"Scott!" Puck shouted and ran forward. Scott was hanging by his wrists by chains from the top of the ceiling. Puck grabbed him and hoisted him up so he was taking all the weight.

"You brought me lady…" He mumbled and Quinn grabbed whatever she could and climbed onto the back of Tyler's shoulders so she could unscrew the bolts that held the chains.

"Just hang in there Scott, we'll introduce you two soon." Quinn glanced down, making sure Puck and David had Scott before unchaining him. They caught him and laid him on the ground.

"Scott, my name is Quinn. Now tell me, where is this blood coming from?" She asked as she sat him up against her pack.

"My stomach."

"Okay." She glanced around and noticed that they hadn't searched the floor. "Guys before I can start I need to know it's clear." Tyler and David nodded and moved off for a search. She pulled off his shirt and noticed the small wound. Okay so that must have been someone else's blood.

"Quinn's a pretty name."

"Why thank you." She whispered as she started work. She rolled him onto his side and groaned when there wasn't an exit wound. "Fuck."

"What is it?" Puck whispered.

"No exit wound." She muttered and turned him back onto his back. She cleaned around the small wound and bit her lip. If she removed the bullet it could cause for more bleeding. If she kept it in there then it could get infected and inflict more damage.

"What are you waiting for?" Puck asked angrily.

"If I take it out, he could bleed out. If I don't, it could get lost and damage an organ." Quinn said angrily back. She hated people that tried to pressure her.

"We're in deep shit, let's get out of here!" Tyler said as he came back into the room with David. Quinn could hear firing down the hall. She grabbed whatever bandage she could find and pressed it to his stomach, wrapping it around him to make sure it was secure. She'd have to deal with it later.

Puck watched Quinn. He could see the cogs in her brain working as she attended to Scott. He had no right to get angry with her, he knew it, but this was his best friend. His friend who looked like he had been tortured, who had been broadcast on national television as they asked for money and defeat, he looked like he was gone. "Puck." Quinn snapped him out of his daze. He was so fucking glad that she was with him tonight. He was glad she was telling him everything that he wanted. She didn't bullshit. She told him that Riley would die if they kept moving. "He will die if we don't move and evac immediately." He nodded, grabbed his radio and stood. He watched as David hauled Scott over his shoulder and watched as Quinn grabbed her gun, almost moving in slow motion to stand beside Tyler. Puck radioed his Helicopter and they had four minutes. Four minutes to get to the LZ. He watched as Quinn looked back at him, her green eyes searching his hazel for orders. For a strange moment he imagined her without the uniform. In a dress. Beside a barbeque. Being a wife. Having children. What the hell was she doing here?

"Lets go!" Puck shouted and led them through the building and where they had to go for the LZ. They were running through alleyways, avoiding anyone and everything. They had one minute to get to the LZ or they were going to get left behind. Puck glanced back, his eyes searching for Quinn's to make sure that she was okay and when they finally reached the Helicopter, he thanked her for what she had done for Riley and Scott. She didn't say anything else but sat down the back, trying to rid the blood from her uniform even though she would have to wash it out or have to get a new uniform. Puck just sat back and looked down at Scott. Happy that they were alive and he had Quinn to thank for that.

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><p><em>Look, I apologize if that was a bit of tantrum, but would you like if people were telling you're wrong when you already know? <em>

_A__nyway, reviews are always welcome. _


	3. Chapter 3: I'm willing to take the risk

A/N: Sorry for such a late update. I just graduated so everything is so very hectic! I'll try to get more up quickly and thank you for the kind reviews. Also Brooke, thank you for your apology. I now know you meant well.

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><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

"_I'm willing to take the risk."_

Quinn had no idea what to think after getting off that Helicopter with the squad. She had seen so much in one day she wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or to vomit although she had the urge to do both. The stuff she went through today, she had only seen in TV shows and movies that were meant not to be real, but sadly was real. As real as it gets.

She had noticed Pucks presence a lot more as she stepped off the helicopter with Scott. Maybe it was to keep an eye on Scott, but she guessed the fact that his hand was in very close contact with hers was not Scott's doing. She ushered Scott to the small makeshift hospital and watched as the boys all watched from afar, upset that they couldn't stay with their friend but had to get debriefed.

Puck couldn't help but feel a little lost without Quinn in his peripheral vision. In the small window of six hours with her he had grown used to the small blonde always around him, always seeing her glancing around, keeping aware of how everyone was doing and where they were. She almost felt like she was apart of the squad. As they headed to the debriefing tent and sat down, he felt like Quinn should be with them while they were debriefed. He knew that Colonel had probably decided that Quinn wasn't needed for some stupid reason and that she had to be with Scott even though they had over a dozen doctors at the Hospital.

Puck's mind flashed through the night's events. The way Quinn responded to Riley being shot. The way that she was so focused and determined to save people, to risk her life for people that she had never met before and even though Quinn was their 'fill in', she saved all their lives. He found it… hot. Puck had never found any of the female soliders particularly attractive. It wasn't because they weren't beautiful, which was stupid, because half of them were, but it was the aspect of losing someone in this war that put him off. It's just with Quinn, being with her on the front line, being there made him feel a little less unsettled and… a bit happier. There was something about her smile that she wore that was just so genuine, something he hadn't seen around here in a while.

When the Colonel came in Puck could sense he was annoyed, or on the verge of being angry. There was a weird sort of vibe the Colonel always gave off when he was pissed off. It immediately made Puck a bit anxious; there was always something bad on the end of the Colonel's mood.

"You got one of your men shot, the one that you 'rescued' is in intensive care and after all this... You still didn't follow orders." The Colonel said, his chubby fingers wrapping over the chair sitting in front of him. All the boys let out a silent, _what?_

"What?" Puck asked, his voice clearly annoyed and the rest of the boys all mirrored Puck's shocked face.

"Your orders were to go in and find Mohammed Al-Pashir, not to rescue Scott. Although yes, what you did with bringing Scott back was excellent, but that was not your orders. Your main objective was to get Mohammed Al-Pashir and all you cared about was rescuing Scott."

Puck couldn't believe what he was hearing. It sounded like complete bullshit but he knew if he said anything he would cop shit, even might be told to take some leave. He watched as the Colonel looked him over, satisfied when he knew that Puck wasn't going to say anything and turned to talk to the Squad again.

"So after Scott and Riley are better, you're going back in." He said and made his way over to his desk. Clearing up his bits of paper before David spoke up.

"That could take weeks and Scott needs to go into assessment after the shit he's been through, that could seriously loose our position on Al-Pashir." David murmured and the rest of the boys nodded in agreement. The Colonel froze and spun around, almost knocking over the chair beside him.

"Then what the hell do you suppose you do? Bring in Fabray again?" The Colonel said with a laugh, his brown eyes rolling slightly. Puck sat forward in his chair, his anger rising. Sure, Puck wanted to have Quinn with him again, but he didn't want her to get that close to the front lines ever again, but she was their only chance. Sure, they could send in another medic but the only medics they had at the base were inexperienced and barely had any time out in the real world. Quinn had been at Harvard, she had already been thrown into the deep end and Puck thought that she was probably one of the best medics he had seen.

"Yeah. She's better than any other medic around here and without her we wouldn't have Riley or Scott or we wouldn't even be alive." Puck murmured and looked round. The boys nodded and smiled, all sensing that there was something behind Puck's motive to have Quinn with them. Luckily the Colonel didn't pick up on it. He thought long and hard, almost spending a full five minutes without talking to any of them.

"Get some sleep. You roll out in six hours." He murmured and walked out of the room, leaving the boys excited.

Quinn had found a quiet spot, a small hill that looked over the neighbouring city. She could see the flashes of the bombs going off in the distance and the smoke of a burning building or car. She hated it. She hated war, she hated that people actually wanted to kill each other and she hated the whole bullshit of the justification of war. She believed in the use of words, not the use of violence, but she knew that politics were doing jack shit right now. She hadn't heard him until she felt a presence beside her. She could see the Mohawk from the corner of her eye and she couldn't help but roll her eyes a little.

"What was that for?" He asked, holding out a beer to her and she took it, taking a small sip before looking over at him. She tried to imagine him without a Mohawk, possibly with just a clean shaved cut, but as she thought about it she couldn't really imagine him with anything else.

"How long have you had _that _for?" She asked, tilting her head to nod at his Mohawk. He let out a laugh and took a sip of his beer, his eyes moving to look at the neighbouring city.

"Since I was 13." Quinn laughed and shook her head, watching as Puck's eyes moved to look down at the beer in his hands. There was something strange about Puck that Quinn couldn't figure out. He was always quiet, but at some moments he spoke and it was like he had been speaking for hours. He was always calm. He never showed anything other than a hard exterior, but sitting with her now, his character was completely different to the one she saw this morning. Sure, everyone had to be this whole different person when they were thrown into a situation like war, but there were two sides to Puck and that confused her.

"Scott's gonna be okay." Quinn murmured after a few moments of comfortable silence. She had been trying to figure out what to say next. Should she ask about what he was doing before the army? Should she ask how long he's been in it? She wanted to know everything about him, she knew about all of the boys, but not Puck. Puck just nodded, a small smile on his face.

"They want him to go straight back in after he's been assessed."

"Shouldn't he be put on leave or something?" Quinn murmured with a frown and Puck let out a sigh, shrugging one shoulder.

"I think he'd want to go home. You go through shit like that you realize what's more important. Being fucked over almost every day or being at home." Puck murmured, his eyes staying low. Quinn wondered what he meant by that. Was he in a situation like that before?

"We leave for Baghdad in three hours." He said abruptly, probably thinking about what he had just said and how it could be taken a different way.

"We?" Quinn asked, settling the beer down on the ground and turned to look at him. Puck still couldn't reach her eye line ever since his comment about Scott.

"I didn't want to bring you back in, it's way too dangerous for you, but after today and what you did we're going back in. We didn't get Al-Pashir." He said, picking up a small rock and throwing it at a small tree in the distance. The way he said _I didn't want to bring you back in_ felt as if he was protecting her, like he personally didn't want her to get hurt. Quinn just nodded. "I'll see you out there." He murmured and patted her thigh, taking her empty bottle and walked off, leaving a confused Quinn. He always managed to touch her, just subtly. Like today with his hand and how close it was to hers or even when they were out there in the battle he hand his fingers just touching her hip, just lightly. Quinn stood up and headed to her tent to get geared up.

They were in the same Helicopter, same gear but a few more squad members. Tyler, Peter, David and Puck were still there, but new members, Lieutenant River Kilo and Captain Eric Saunders joined. They were Rangers and were just from a different squad, in for the ride. Quinn quickly got to know them and the rest of the boys did during their downtime in the chopper. As soon as they got down on the ground Quinn was grouped with Puck and River. Eric was a medic so he could split up with the rest of the boys that were left over, which felt strange to Quinn since… wouldn't you stick together? She still didn't have the whole army thing packed down yet and she was trying not to show it. Puck kept Quinn in the middle of him and River as they entered their first building. Their mission was to get high to get clearance for the rest of the boys, especially since it was raining and pitch dark.

When Puck reached the top of the building, his hand shot out for Quinn's, making sure that she stopped since he still heard movement. When he realised what he had done he shot his hand back, his eyes glancing at Quinn's for a short moment wondering if she reacted badly. He noticed a small blush started to appear on her cheeks and realised that he was in deep shit. He turned away from her and continued on, clearing the rooftop with River before moving to the edge to give clearance to the guys down below. They had received Intel that Al-Pashir was hiding in the vault of the bank and if he wasn't there, then he had fled.

They moved from rooftop to rooftop, checking, clearing, entering; the same process over and over. When they had finally reached the last building just outside the Bank did Puck grow scared. He wasn't down with his boys and he had Quinn with him. So many things could go wrong, so he waited. The squad, waited in the rain for Puck's orders. The best way to do this, to make sure that Al-Pashir was taken properly was for them to enter from the top and the bottom. From where they were sitting the roof was pretty occupied and the ground was even worse. How the hell were they going to get in?

"Puck, this is David. How are we doing for an entry?"

"Roof and ground, we're fucked. We're going to have to try for a side entrance. Climb up into a bathroom window or something." Quinn heard Puck murmur over the radio. Quinn's heart was pounding so hard that she could hear it in her head and could barely hear what Puck was saying.

"You take left, we'll take right."

"Roger that." Puck grabbed Quinn and headed down the stairs with her, Rivers right behind them. When they made it out of the building they headed towards the left hand side of the Bank. When they got there, they couldn't see anything in reach except for a staircase just beside the bank wall. The only way to get up is for someone to get a boost and that someone would be Quinn. Rivers stood just in front of the ladder that was too high for them to reach and Quinn stood a few metres away, ready to take her run up.

"We've got you if you fall." Puck murmured in her ear and she nodded, sprinting towards River. She jumped; he gripped the bottom of her foot and pushed her up. She gripped the ladder and grunted. She started to climb and made her way up, jumping onto the small ledge and lowering the ladder for them. She was in the heat of the moment, making her way on the small ledge to a window. She broke it, peered inside and hopped in.

He heard Quinn shout clear and was immediately relieved. She wasn't meant to go in first, that was definitely against army regulations and it was extremely dangerous. He climbed through the small window and found himself in a bathroom, just as they had hoped and Quinn was nowhere to be seen. He frowned and stepped out to see an insurgent holding a knife to Quinn's throat with her hands wrapped around his arm. Puck pulled out his m9 pistol and aimed it at his head, letting his M4A1 hang from his hip.

The only thing he could think of Quinn's blonde parents standing at her grave and he did not want to see that. The man was shouting in Arabic, a language Puck did not know and his knife was slicing Quinn's neck, blood starting to trickle down it. Puck could hear River over the receiver, translating for him. Something to do with letting her go and making a deal, the usual. Finally River entered and when he did the insurgent flicked focus, giving a window of opportunity to Puck. He shot and it sliced right through the insurgent's head. The knife dropped and Quinn dropped to her knees out of shock. Puck rushed to her side, ripping off the scarf he had around his neck and pressed it to hers. She gripped his hand.

"Are you okay?" He asked and she nodded.

"Fine." She gasped out and she took the scarf from him, letting out a breath. It hurt, quite a lot, but she knew that she had to press on. She could feel Puck rummaging around in her pack and he took her hand away. She peered down and he was starting to wrap a bandage around her neck.

"You're gonna be fine." He murmured and squeezed her hand. She felt River's eyes on them when he did that, but she couldn't care less. She needed someone to look after her just for a moment. "We gotta keep moving, come on." He pulled her up and she readjusted the bandage before following behind River. They were on the third storey of the Bank, the other part of the squad had made it to the second floor. They cleared all of the floors and made their way to the vault. They rejoined the two small squads and breached.

Puck didn't expect to see what he saw when the vault door was pulled open. Sitting on piles of gold bars were, what seemed to look like C4 mines, but were something else. Big fucking bombs. He heard Quinn gasp and his eyes immediately turned to look at hers. They were scared. Completely scared. Their gaze was broken when David walked through, approaching the bomb.

"Look out for trip wires." Peter murmured from where he was standing. Eric stood beside Puck, his mouth just as wide as Puck's was. When David finally approached everyone held their breath.

"10 minutes till this thing fucking blows." Puck stepped forward, fully aware that the rest of the squad stood stunned by the door. Puck looked round, there were tables filled with documents and maps.

"River, grab the Intel. We need to be out of here in four minutes." Puck commanded and stood beside David. It was like they were staring at the naked body of Miranda Kerr. It was a sight that no man would ever see again.

"Everyone except David, prepare the Intel and get out."

"What?" Eric asked. Quinn's eyes shot to Puck's. They were hard and he definitely looked like he wasn't going to budge his order.

"David is going to try to disarm the bomb, you guys need to get out and clear the streets. This thing had a radius of god, I have no idea, but by the looks of it almost 500m."

"Then lets get everyone out, get the Intel and don't risk losing two soldiers." Quinn said firmly and everyone turned to look at her. There was something in the tone of her voice that made it clear that this was a personal request. Then suddenly there was a click. Standing two metres away was Eric, one of his legs held high as the other had what now would be a lose red wire around the top of his boot.

"Two minutes." David whispered and Puck ran, grabbing whatever maps he could find and documents.

"OUT! NOW!" He shouted. He ran behind Eric, River behind him and Quinn behind them. Peter and David were right behind Quinn and as soon as they burst out of the Bank a heavy rain of fire came down on them. They broke off, all splitting into smaller groups.

Then Puck heard it.

He heard Quinn's scream.

Everything froze for Puck then as he turned to see Quinn on the ground, clutching her stomach. No, oh God no. They had almost under a minute to get as far back as they could. Puck ran back for her, ignoring the fact that no one was covering him and slid down, gripped her as he pulled her into his arms and ran. Quinn was crying now, the pain becoming unbearable and Puck could feel her blood dripping down his arms. Puck had to ignore her screams to stop, to let her down, but he heard a small explosion and looked back. The bank was only 300m behind them and it was too late. He found a burnt out car, tucked her underneath it and covered her with his body. Just hoping, just praying that they were out of reach.

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><p><em>Reviews are always welcome!<em>


	4. Chapter 4: Hey Moon

**A/N: Sorry this is horrible and late and ugh, but thanks for all the reviews though, they keep me going!**

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><p><span>Chapter Four<span>

"_Hey Moon"_

It happened in a manner of seconds. In one second the sky was filled with red and then the next it turned grey with smoke, contrasting the black night sky. At first it was silent as the clouds of ash settled and then the shouting begun. Soldiers, civilians, everyone was shouting, screaming for each other although half would never hear the cries.

When Puck finally came to, there was a loud ringing in Puck's ears, his head was pounding and something that sounded like a bee buzzing turned out to be River's voice through the Comms. He couldn't make out what he was saying as Puck just tried to focus so he could get the ringing out of his head.

Then he froze.

He couldn't feel Quinn's body beneath him or he couldn't feel anything except the hardness of the ground. He opened his eyes, which stung and found himself lying on his back, his helmet three meters back and Quinn lying on her back beneath a now overturned car. Her helmet was lying beside her, her blonde hair flowing beside her head. Puck scrambled to his feet and then immediately regretted it. His head protested and he fell to the ground again, his knees giving way. What felt like water was slowly starting to drip down his cheek and when he touched it, he realized it was his blood. He started to slowly crawl towards Quinn, just praying that she was alive. When he reached her he saw the small rise of her chest and he let out a deep sigh, although the blood beneath her didn't give him too much hope.

"Quinn?" Quinn was dreaming. She dreamt she was in a home and the walls were made of wood. She recognized it to be her grandparent's lake house that she had only visited once when she was 12. She turned to look outside, where the voice was coming from and saw Puck. He was wearing a white button down shirt and beige slacks. His Mohawk was gone, only a short buzz remained. He wasn't smiling. He turned away from her and walked. She frowned. Her heart told her to go, but her head said no.

She didn't respond. At least she was alive, he thought to himself. He looked round and saw David, helmet off, eyes wide and gone. Puck felt the vomit come up his throat and he swallowed it down. Deal with the living. The living is all you can save right now. He turned to Quinn again and called her name a few more times and then gave up. He'll have to get her out before he could do anything more.

"Who's alive?" River shouted into the Comms that Puck had completely forgotten about. Images of his team now filled his mind, the seconds just before the blast. He tried to remember where they all were, but as he thought about it he couldn't remember.

"Puckerman, Fabray's down and David's KIA." Puck said and gripped Quinn, tugging her out from under the car and pulled her into his arms. She felt lifeless, she weighed absolutely nothing compared to hauling his pack around.

"Fuck, what's your position?"

"Ten meters from the Mosque, need medical assistance immediately." Puck groaned into the radio as he glanced down at Quinn. Her head was rolled away from him, her hair was strewn across her face and he couldn't forget about the blood dripping down his arms.

"We're heading to your position." Hopefully that _we _meant Rivers and Eric, the medic. Puck rounded the corner and River and Eric were running towards him. He let out a relieved sigh and put Quinn to the ground.

"Fuck, a through and through straight through the stomach." Eric said as soon as he got his hands on Quinn.

"I don't know how long I've been out for." Puck mumbled, rubbing his head as he tried to figure out how much blood she could have lost in those moments when he was gone.

"I think five minutes, we've all been down for about that time." Rivers said as he helped Eric as Puck stood motionless as he watched them work. "Fuck, shit, bugger she's not gonna last."

"What?" Puck snapped and both of the boys looked at him, shocked by his tone, but they knew he had a reason.

"She's been bleeding out for too long and since we're in the middle of fucking no where and evac can only come in twenty minutes she isn't gonna last." Eric groaned as he worked. Twenty minutes?

"The Iraqi Police have us surrounded, they're not happy and also the airspace is very, very hostile at the moment so them getting through right now is a suicide mission." River murmured, noticing Puck's confusion. Puck sighed and looked around the buildings, hoping to find one that would be far away enough but also an easy LZ. He spotted one; it looked like it was 400m away, it was tall as anything and didn't look at all affected by the bomb.

"We can use the building, flare the roof when they get near and use the levels so that if they come looking for us… we can easily take them out." Rivers turned to Eric who just nodded. Puck gripped Quinn while Rivers ran back for David. When they finally made it to the building it was deserted. There were only a few of the locals inside the building so they didn't bother them. When they got to the top floor they sat against the roof's top's wall, panting as they had just climbed quite a number of steps, all of them carrying equipment or people.

Puck looked down at Quinn in his arms. She was as pale as anything. He cradled her, brushing a strand of her ear over her cheek and behind her ear.

"Did you guys ever-" Rivers started off and Puck shook his head.

"I didn't even get to know her." Puck murmured quietly, pulling his helmet off and putting it down on the ground beside him. Puck kept one of his hands on her stomach, keeping steady pressure to stop the blood flowing. Puck leant his head back against the wall, staring up at the moon as he wished for the twenty minutes to be over.

Quinn ignored what her head told her and continued walking towards where Puck was walking. Suddenly she found herself opening her eyes and staring up at the moon. The pain was still there, but she had grown used to and turned to look at Puck. His eyes were on the moon, but they were sad. Quinn lifted her hand, with some effort and pressed the tip of her fingers to his jaw. He turned, his eyes flicking down to look at her and all she could see in them were concern.

"Hey moon… it's just you and me tonight. Everyone else is asleep." Quinn whispered, singing softly. Puck shook his head, letting a small smile break across his face. "What?" Quinn asked, raising an eyebrow at his reaction.

"Of all the things you could say at a moment like this, you choose that song."

"It's a nice-" She started to cough and Puck sat her up so that her head was cradled against his shoulder as he sat upright up against the wall. Quinn buried her head into his shoulder and let out a sigh, happy that someone was holding her.

"Hey moon, my old friend. Hey moon, the night is coming to an end." Puck sung in a whisper, his eyes looking down at Quinn as she snuggled against his shoulder. The bleeding had stopped, her colour was almost coming back and she was so close to him, ever so close.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like shit." She mumbled back.

"You got shot."

"I guessed."

"You've lost a lot of blood, so you're gonna have to drink my blood." Puck murmured, trying to lighten up the situation. Quinn just laughed and then groaned.

"Don't make me laugh you oaf." She grumbled. Then she rolled so that her back was against Puck's chest. He looked down at her and noticed something different about her mood. Her eyes were staring down at Puck's hand on her stomach, stained red.

"You're not gonna die."

"I can feel it."

"I'm not gonna let you die." Quinn shifted in his arms so she could look up at him.

"And why's that Captain Puckerman?"

"I want to take you out for a drink after this." Quinn laughed again and then coughed, groaning.

"Ugh, stop it." She groaned and rested her hand on top of his.

"Squeeze my hand." He murmured, looking down at her hand on his.

"What?" She mumbled.

"Just squeeze it so I know you're alive." He murmured and she let out a sigh, her fingers wrapping around two of his fingers. She squeezed and held a firm grip. Puck had forgotten Rivers and Eric were there until he heard his radio go off, telling them that their ride was very close. Puck handed Rivers his flare and he set it off. They all braced then, for whatever would prevent their efforts of trying to get out. Pucks eyes were on the door, keeping his concentration on how hard Quinn was squeezing his hand. She had been bleeding out for almost half an hour and if she reached the 45 minute mark without any blood transfusions, she was gone. Their helicopter arrived just in time as the door burst open with insurgents. Puck managed to carry Quinn without getting shot onto the helicopter and handed her over to the medics.

As soon as they got back to camp Puck, exhausted and tired went straight to bed. He woke up 12 hours later, still in his uniform with Rivers sitting on the bed beside him. His face looked so grim he was certain that Quinn was dead.

"She's fine." He murmured and Puck sat up, his head heavy from the amount of sleep he's had.

"We're sending David off this morning. Thought you would want to know."

"Oh. Thank you." Puck patted Rivers on the shoulder and stood up. He changed into the formal uniform and followed Rivers out onto the airfield. When he got there, Scott and Riley were standing. He looked around and saw Quinn, dressed in the same uniform as his, but sitting in a wheelchair. He moved to stand beside her, his hand reaching down just so that he could hold her hand behind the shield of the wheelchair. They rolled out the wooden box. Rivers laid the flag on it and they all saluted. Watching with teary eyes as David was boxed off and loaded like cargo on a back of a plane. When the ceremony was over a nurse came to take Quinn back but Puck waved her away, telling her that he'd take her back. The nurse scowled and turned away, probably annoyed that she had to walk across an airfield to get Quinn.

"I'm curious." Quinn murmured as Puck started to slow push her back towards the small hospital.

"About?" Puck asked, his pace slowing so that he could hear her.

"About whether or not you were being serious about that date." Puck laughed.

"As soon as you can take a beer, sure. Until then, you'll have to wait." Puck said and laughed when Quinn groaned a little, a small smile appearing on his face.

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><p><strong><em>Reviews are always welcome!<em>**


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